Indigo Acquisition LLC is a newly formed company of which Rebecca Darwin and PierreManigault are the founding partners. Together, these two have been driving the vision forGarden & Gun Magazine since before the launch of the first issue in Spring 2007.“When, at the end of 2008, we learned that Evening Post Publishing Company would notcontinue to fund Garden & Gun Magazine, Pierre and I explored a variety of options. Wewere determined to keep the magazine in Charleston and to keep the special dynamics of theteam we had put in place in tact, and we’re thrilled with this resolution,” stated RebeccaDarwin, President of Indigo Acquisition and Publisher of Garden & Gun.

Pierre Manigault agreed, saying, “As Chairman of Evening Post Publishing Company and amember of Indigo Acquisition, I am particularly pleased that the magazine will continue tooperate in much the same way as before and that Evening Post will retain a passive stake inthe business. It’s the best outcome for both companies, and we all look forward to thecontinued success and evolution of the Garden & Gun brand.”John Barnwell, CEO of Evening Post Publishing Company, added, “We are proud to havebeen an integral part of Garden & Gun’s start up, and we’re delighted that it is now movingforward under this new structure.”

The April/May 2009 issue, which marks the magazine’s second anniversary, will be mailed tomore than 160,000 paid subscribers in early April. With a total circulation of 220,000 anddistribution in all fifty states, circulation has grown 130% since the premier issue in Spring2007 and advertising is trending up. “With this kind of vitality story and the particularpassion of our readers, we are confident that Garden & Gun is positioned for growth,”concludes Darwin.

With a lively mix of sporting culture, food, music, art, and travel, Garden & Gun has turnedthe old formula for Southern magazines upside down. In its first year of publication, Garden& Gun won a flourish of accolades, including three ADDY awards and eight GAMMAawards. It was named the nation’s second-hottest magazine launch in 2007 by MIN Magazineand Dr. Samir Husni and was recognized as having the top editorial team. For moreinformation about Garden & Gun, please visit www.gardenandgun.com.

March 24, 2009

An izakaya(居酒屋?) is a type of Japanesedrinking establishment which also serves food to accompany the drinks. The food is usually more substantial than that offered in other types of drinking establishments in Japan such as bars or snack bars.

They are popular, casual and relatively cheap places for after-work drinking.

In our case, it is the place our favorite Green Olive Media family member wants to go to dinner tonight:

We congratulate James Beard Nominees...we are lucky enough to count these folks as both good friends and rockstar clients...as if it weren't that easy to tell...here is our slate..and yes, at times we have to ride two horses with one....

March 23, 2009

Keynote speaker, Michael Pollan rallied a huge crowd at the Georgia Organics' Farmers' Feast Saturday night. Green Olive Media was proud to support the 12th Annual Conference and designed the conference banners, including the one behind Pollan. Congratulations to Georgia Organics for their hard work in organizing a fantastic event.

One of the harder-to-get dishes in Atlanta...the yellowtail cheek at Miso Izakaya. They only get two of these off of the fish every day, so get there early. We made sure to arrive right at 6:00. It's almost a cross between fried chicken skin and yellowtail. Requires a bit of work to get all the fish out, but very worthwhile...

March 13, 2009

Don't miss the Georgia Organics Friday Night Dine Around on March 20, 2009.

After the conference's welcome reception, GA Organics invites you to participate in the first Georgia Organics Dine Around, an opportunity to dine in some of the area’s finest restaurants where local and sustainably-produced ingredients are integral to the menu.You will make a reservation from a list of participating restaurants that will be partnering with Georgia Organics to feature a farm fresh meal.

March 11, 2009

Any good southerner who likes ginger ale gets excited when they come across the elusive Blenheim Ginger Ale...it's nearly impossible to find, and it never seems to stay in stock in any one store for more than about five minutes. But leave it to the Charleston Piggly Wiggly to come across a big stash:According to the Blenheim Shrine: "Blenheim ginger ale has attained legendary status, partly because it is hard to find, and partly because of its spicy kick that nearly causes out-of-body experiences. Oh sure, they have a 'not as hot' level, but my friends, if you aren't used to anything spicy, even Blenny's '#5' could make your head feel like it's in a toaster oven!"

March 10, 2009

The weather is nice and it’s that time of year to pack your picnic baskets…what better way to do that than to keep nature in mind. This weekend I came across some utensils made by worldcentric.org. World Centric provides high quality biodegradable products (using renewable resources, such as sugarcane, reed, corn, and potato starch) for use in schools, corporate cafeterias, restaurants, or individual use. Their assortment is A-MAZING!

Here's an early candidate for dinner of the year - a meal at Charleston's McCrady's featuring guest chefs Wylie Dufresne of WD-50 and pastry chef Johnny Iuzzini. I'll have to dig up the menu for exact descriptions of what we ate...as you can imagine, if you take these two chefs and add Sean Brock to the mix, the food's going to be a little disorienting...

Scallops...I believe the pork rind looking things on top were actually made with beef tendon:

'Lobster Legs:'

'Chicken and Waffles' - was this fried chicken liver mousse on a waffle? I think so...

Larkspur was far and away the best restaurant we came across during a recent trip to Colorado - so good, in fact, that we went twice in the same day. While eating a burger there at lunch, we looked over the dinner menu and decided to go back that night. See below for what we had:

March 8, 2009

Founded in 2001...I am in love with this brand. It speaks to me. I want to try this stuff. During my trip to NYC at the end of the month I am running to Bottlerocket and buying some -- STAT.

The Tuthilltown Spirits distillery is located in the town of Gardiner, NY, (Hudson Valley) -- they source their grain from area Hudson Valley farms, they bottle and label each product by hand (numbered, natch), and guess what? WE CAN'T BUY IT IN GEORGIA AND WE CAN'T EVEN GET IT SHIPPED HERE!

March 4, 2009

Look what came in the mail today...the packaging that we designed for Collared Greens' ties...being that they're a 'green brand' and all, the sturdy cardboard container can be re-used 101 ways...a cool new pencil holder...use it as a cat toy...cookie tin...

The farm was established in 1999 and the goal was to raise the best possible grass-fed beef and lamb, as well as natural pork without harmful hormones and unnecessary antibiotics.

"Over the years we have discerningly bred our heritage breeds of livestock to meet the highest breed standards. Today we have the largest herd of purebred American Milking Devon cattle along with over twenty purebred Tamworth sows."

March 3, 2009

My brother-in-law sent me this link to Krystal's Burger Challenge. I am having one of those "I wish I would have thought of that for one of our clients" moments. Wishing the fine folks would let us have a whirl with them for the 2009 - 2010 design season. We love that brand. We follow when the spicy Krystal Chik comes to roost. The brand makes us all warm and fuzzy inside. I believe that I speak for both Jeff and myself when I say that this promotional campaign brings up memories of University of Tennessee football games, warm Evan Williams and Diet Coke, our pals Ben & Andy picking a scuff with fellow fans in the drive-thru...really, what's not to love?